Displaying items by tag: Protest

India: The proposed UltraTech Cement plant at Khamarnuagaon in Cuttack District's Athagarh Block has witnessed protests by locals after it obtained the required 90 acres from the government to start building the plant.

Addressing a press conference, villagers of Gurudijhatia and Khamarnuagaon alleged that they would lose almost all grazing fields for cattle when the land is given to the plant. They also alleged that elephants from the Kapilash and Chandaka jungles would be forced into the villages and destroy crops after a fence is erected around the plant. UltraTech told the media that the plant would be ‘people-friendly.’

Canada: A group of residents close to the Lafarge Canada Brookfield plant has launched a court challenge arguing the Nova Scotia government's approval of a plan to burn tyres as an alternative fuel at the plant violated the Environment Act.

In his application for a judicial review, lawyer William Mahody wrote that Environment Minister Iain Rankin didn't properly assess the impact of emissions from the Lafarge plant in Brookfield on surrounding areas, stating that was a ‘strong potential for adverse effects’ on surface water, human health and wildlife from the project. The plan has run into criticism from environmental groups, municipal councils and area residents, who prevented a similar proposal a decade ago.
Nova Scotia’s waste diversion agency has shifted a supply of at least 280,000 tyres per year to Lafarge and recently approved the company's environmental application for a one-year pilot project to incinerate the tyres as fuel.

Lafarge says it can't comment on the judicial review. However, Robert Cumming, the environmental director at Lafarge, says research conducted off-site by a Dalhousie University engineer suggests the use of scrap tyres will lower the plant's CO2 emissions. "Our pilot project seeks to validate this evidence gathered from scientific reports and in Dalhousie University laboratories. The research team and Lafarge have committed to sharing the results with the community."

Indonesia: Semen Indonesia plans to start commercial operation of its Rembang cement plant in the first half of 2017. Rizkan Chandra, the chief executive, of the state-owned cement producer revealed the company’s plans, despite protests on environmental grounds by local residents, after a meeting with presidential staff in Jakarta, according to the Antara news agency. However the plant is waiting for environmental clearance that is expected to be released in April 2017. Previously a government minister said that the President Joko Widodo was expected to inaugurate the plant in mid-2017. However, in October 2016 the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the protesters and ordered Semen Indonesia to cease its activities.

Indonesia: State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno says that President Joko Widodo is expected to inaugurate Semen Indonesia’s Rembang cement plant in April 2017. Soemarno made the comments following a visit to the plant, according to the Jakarta Post. The inauguration of the plant is dependent on environmental clearance, which should be completed in April 2017. However, the plant has been the focus of intense protests by local farmers and both the Supreme Court and a local government ruled to shut down the plant.

Ireland: Residents of Limerick protested on 10 and 11 March 2017 against Irish Cement’s plans to burn waste solvents and used tyres at its plant in Mungret. In response, Irish Cement stated that it is the only cement plant left in the country that uses solely fossil fuels and that it needs to use waste fuels to reduce costs if it is to keep the 84 jobs at the plant.

Indonesia: Farmers have blocked access to Semen Indonesia’s Rembang cement plant as part of on-going protests against the construction of the unit. Around 250 farmers protested at the site in support of a Supreme Court ruling in October 2016 and a local government order in favour of shutting down the plant, according to the Jakarta Post newspaper. The activists claim that activity has continued at the site.

However, Semen Indonesia denies that is has started operation at the plant saying that its workers are merely ‘taking care of its assets.’ The cement producer says it stopped construction soon after it received the governor's decision to revoke its permit. It added that it had spent US$337m on the plant and that it was 99% complete when the governor issues his decree. 3000 workers were also laid off at the same time.

Nepal: Residents of Jyamire are seeking ’fair’ compensation from a quarry that Hongshi-Shivam Cement is building. Villagers have prevented Chinese technicians from the Nepal-China joint venture from working near the village, claiming that the company has ignored their complaints, according to the Kathmandu Post. Around 32 households in the region will be displaced by the mining project. The villagers are seeking compensation in excess of the rate set by the government, which they say the cement company offered them initially.

Hongshi-Shivam Cement is building a cement factory at Sardi in Nawalparasi district. It has acquired a permit from the Department of Mines and Geology to extract limestone at Jyamire in Palpa. China's Hongshi Holding Group has invested US$330m and its local partner has contributed around US$140m towards the project. The plant will have a production capacity of 6000t/day when operational and it is expected to be opened in 2017.

Ireland: Irish Cement’s plans to use used tyres as an alternative fuel at its plant in Limerick, Munster, have been delayed, after more than 1000 local residents signed a petition to present to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Local Labour councillor Joe Leddin said the sheer number of submissions is, ‘testament to the huge anxiety and worry of residents.’ An EPA spokesman confirmed it is one of the highest responses it had ever received for any application. The petition now means that no decision is likely to be made on the plans until the start of 2017.

Irish Cement has previously stated that the public’s concerns are disproportionate. The tyres will be burnt at such high temperatures, that the tyres will be completely consumed and pollution will be minimal.

France: Protest group SumOfUs has demanded that the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo drop LafargeHolcim as a corporate sponsor due to alleged links of deals with armed groups in Syria reported in the French media. SumOfUs say that over 37,500 people have signed an online petition calling for LafargeHolcim’s involvement with the Paris-Plages urban beach summer event to be terminated. The event, run by the office of the Mayor of Paris, creates temporary artificial beaches along the river Seine in the centre of Paris and the Bassin de la Villette in the northeast of Paris.

“This is a scandalous partnership with the City of Paris that should have never happened. By partnering with Lafarge for this summer’s Paris-Plages event, the City of Paris is whitewashing the company’s obscene show of corporate greed that profits off the war and violence created by terrorists. It is high time to make Lafarge accountable for its support of terror,” said Eoin Dubsky, Campaign manager at SumOfUs.

Myanmar: Hundreds of protestors have gathered in Hpa-an to object against a revived proposal to build a 5000t/day cement plant in Mi Karen and to develop a nearby limestone quarry. The project was originally put on hold in 2014 pending a public consultation, according to the Irrawaddy newspaper.

Protestors held a 'no cement' prayer vigil demanding that the project be scrapped. Local residents fear that the proposed cement plant will require land to be confiscated to build it as well as citing environmental and public health concerns.

Hpa-an has two existing cement plants in Myaingkalay with a combined cement production capacity of 4900t/day. These are run by the government and the military’s Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL) respectively.